The Trouble with Tulip

I picked this up on a whim, needing a cozy mystery read. This did not disappoint. It was light, funny, diverting and also engaging for the mystery part. I've read many mystery cozies, but not many from the Christian genre. I'm glad to see there are more good quality ones available now. Jo Tulip was a likable character and her world believable. I loved the Tips from Tulip, and just might see if some of them actually work! Unfortunately, I read this one in one day, so I hope there will be many more in the series. I'd recomend that you visit her website, and find out more about Chewie, it is a neat story. The only nitpick I can think of is that the actually murderer in the story wasn't as prominent in the storyline as he/she should have been. But no more on that, or I'll give it away!

If your child walks in from school with a tough grass stain on his or her pants, you may wonder how to remove it. Jo Tulip, short for Josephine Tulip, answers these types of household problems in a syndicated newspaper column called "Tips from Tulip," which she took over writing from her grandmother. While Jo can easily solve these types of situational problems, her personal life is in continual crisis. Tulip lives in Mulberry Glen, Pennsylvania, a small town where it's relatively easy to know other people's business. In the opening pages, Jo goes out for a late night jog to ease her tension from a house full of relatives and her forthcoming wedding to Bradford Bosworth. The couple had a whirlwind romance and engagement, and now the wedding is the next day. While on her run, Jo overhears an angry voice from Edna Pratt's home, which even at that late hour is well lit yet the shades are drawn. On the morning of her wedding, Jo's best friend and neighbor, photographer Danny Watkins, feels free to call her to help the local police. Danny is taking crime scene photos where someone has died. The police can't identify a strange chemical in a bucket near the body and Danny suggests that Jo Tulip may have the answer. Jo arrives at the house where she heard the argument the night before and learns of the death of her neighbor, Edna Pratt. At first the police consider Edna's death a "strange" suicide, but Jo and Danny suspect foul play and spend the rest of the book proving that Edna Pratt has been murdered. Eventually the reader learns that Edna and her brother Simon are involved in a complex con game with some of Mulberry Glen's elderly women. Simon has convinced these women that he is hundreds of years old yet appears to look young because of a fountain of youth elixir. In this first "Smart Chick Mystery," Mindy Clark has created a multi-dimensional and layered plot where separate strands are eventually woven into a solid story. Clark has created believable characters who are flawed and struggling with life. During the wedding, Bradford suddenly runs out of the ceremony and jilts Jo Tulip at the altar in front of her friends and relatives. Her strained relationship with her parents is another dimension that readers will easily identify with. I loved the twists and turns in the plot. Christian readers will appreciate the spiritual dimensions built into the fiber of the storytelling. A fun dog named Chewie is mixed into a great package. At one point early on in the story, Jo is trying to convince the police about the murder: "I'm Jo Tulip," she said aloud, confidently, as she pushed off with her Rollerblades. "I have a solution for every situation." Just as quickly she stopped again, one house over, and looked back at Edna's place, wavering just a bit. "Correction," she said to herself, more softly this time, "I have a solution for every situation...except my own love life and, oh yea, the dead body next door." Clark's pacing is terrific for a myst

Josephine 'Jo' Tulip is one smart chick. She gives helpful hints in her column 'Tips from Tulip' and has a solution for every situation, while at the same time being a 'smart chick' about it. But now she's gone off the deep and agreed to marry a guy she'd just recently met, despite the disapproval of best friend Danny Watkins, a guy who has always been there for her. Her wedding ends in disaster when Bradford dumps her at the alter and leaves Jo crushed and humiliated. "I have a solution for every situation... except my own love life and, oh yeah, the dead body next door." The death of Edna Pratt has been ruled as an accident, but Jo thinks differently. With the help of Danny, she is determined to find out why anyone would kill the elderly lady. Turns out, there is more to Edna's death than meets the eye and the two find themselves unraveling a tangled mystery... As usual, Mindy Starnes Clark writes a delightful novel full of humor with an exciting plot as well. Both Danny and Jo - currently 'just friends' as far as Jo sees it- are endearing characters. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series when it comes out. The Trouble with Tulip is one book any smart chick will love.

I had already read Mindy Starns Clark's other series and decided to try this one. It was just wonderful - plus with the added bonus of lots of helpful household hints. The characters were vivid and went straight to your heart. I am definitely rooting for Danny and Jo to get together though! Danny is such a wonderful guy. I also loved the dog, Chewie, and how he got his name (on Mindy's website) is just wonderful! Completely worth the time to read! I can't wait for the rest of the series to come out!

The last thing Jo needs that Saturday morning is a trip to a crime scene. But her friend Danny thinks she can shed some light on the weird things being found around the house. Sure enough, the odd items are tips from Jo's "Tips from Tulip" household hints column. But when the chief concludes that Edna Pratt's death was an accident, Jo disagrees. Convinced that it was murder and with some personal issues she'd like a distraction from, she drags Danny into the investigation. Can they figure out what really happened? Being a fan of Mindy Starns Clark's other series, I was looking forward to this debut. I was not disappointed. Jo and Danny are great new characters, and Ms. Clark has such a great way of making them likeable right from the start. The murder plot is a little slow in the first half of the book as things in the character's personal lives take center stage. Even so, I couldn't put it down wanting to know what would happen next. And once the mystery takes over, it really gets interesting and exciting. The spiritual topics touched upon made me stop and think myself, and I'm hoping they are central themes in this series. I'm quite anxious to see where this series goes next. You can bet I'll be buying book two as soon as it's released.